Nashik is on the edge after a teenage boy allegedly tried to rape a five-year-old girl near Trimbakeshwar sparking large scale protests and tension in the district. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis appealed for calm and assured that the case would be tried in a fast track court.

The 16-year-old boy, who has been taken into custody, allegedly tried to rape a minor girl at Talegaon village near Trimbakeshwar in the district, Nashik Superintendent of Police Ankush Shinde said.

A case has been registered against the boy under relevant sections of the IPC and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, he said.

The Nashik police put out an update on their Facebook and Twitter pages late night Sunday local time.

As soon as the news spread, tension gripped Talegoan as locals gathered at the police station last night demanding that the boy be booked and arrested.

The villagers staged ‘rasta roko’ in Wadovhare, Ghoti and Anjaneri-phata areas. Some people set tyres on fire, and also damaged a tractor in Talegaon. A group of people also protested at Nashik Civil Hospital last night and demanded that the victim be examined by a woman doctor.

Enraged locals gathered at several places this morning also and damaged three police vehicles, including the car of Special IG, Nashik Range, Vinaykumar Choube.

Police lobbed teargas shells and also fire some rounds in the air at Talegaon to disperse the mob, a rural control room official said.

Protestors blocked the Nashik-Igatpuri road, Nashik-Aurangabad road and Mumbai-Agra National Highway before it was cleared by additional police forces.

Maharashtra Water Resources Minister Girish Mahajan visited the girl’s family and assured them that charges will be framed in the case within a fortnight and it will be heard in a fast track court.

Senior lawyer Ujjwal Nikam will be appointed as prosecutor in the case, he said.

No senior doctor or civil surgeon of Nashik Civil Hospital were available for comment.